A less government conservative Republican from Livingston County, MI
Opinions on this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Livingston County Republican Party.
Chairman of LCRP since January 2013

Friday, November 21, 2008

70% of the Union members in Michigan voted for Obama is the exit polls are accurate. They may or may not be, but it's probably close. I know the UAW push was probably close to unprecedented, and was a major reason for Obama's win. The thanks given for that? Their best ally losing his committee chair.

But we all the know the real controllers among the democrats isn't the David Bonior wing or John Dingell wing of the party anymore. It's the foreign car lovers and American car haters and rich leftist elitists of San Francisco and Hollywood. Nancy Pelosi and the worst of them all in Henry Waxman. Waxman hates freedom and wants to ban everything for one reason or another. Be is free speech, smokes, trucks, SUV's, or especially guns. The worst of the worst of the left.

""If someone is so fearful that they are going to start using their weapons to protect their rights,it makes me very nervous that these people have weapons at all." - Waxman on MSNBC

And I'm nervous that this fascist has a major committee chair. People like Waxman are the reason why we need the ultimate check and balance - the Second Amendment. No, that's not a threat. It's a caution because if the Waxman crowd get everything they want their utopian view of society - that's when we'll need it. Until then, we still have the ballot box and the courts. Checks and balances.

The democrats just kicked out a sane democrat for this fascist, Waxman. John Dingell was an old time liberal. He was too independent for this spot. Mr. Universal Health Care himself wasn't leftist enough for this position. Why? Because he liked the evil auto industry. He didn't completely drink the global warming flavor-aid. At least not at the expense of his district. For that, the longest serving member of congress gets pushed out to pasture. That's the change on the horizon by the democrats. From a liberal like Dingell to a fascist like Waxman.

Now back to the Big 3 and the debate on bailouts, etc. I saw this interesting piece from Pat Buchanan. Buchanan's not always right on some things, and goes further than I do in some areas, but when it comes to trade issues, he's right on the money. Government taxed and regulated the hell out of manufacturing at home, and forced them to compete with both hands tied behind their backs against foreign competition.

Who killed the U.S. auto industry?

To hear the media tell it, arrogant corporate chiefs failed to foresee the demand for small, fuel-efficient cars and made gas-guzzling road-hog SUVs no one wanted, while the clever, far-sighted Japanese, Germans and Koreans prepared and built for the future.

I dissent. What killed Detroit was Washington, the government of the United States, politicians, journalists and muckrakers who have long harbored a deep animus against the manufacturing class that ran the smokestack industries that won World War II.

As far back as the 1950s, an intellectual elite that produces mostly methane had its knives out for the auto industry of which Ike's treasury secretary, ex-GM chief Charles Wilson, had boasted, "What's good for America is good for General Motors, and vice versa."

"Engine Charlie" was relentlessly mocked, even in Al Capp's L'il Abner cartoon strip, where a bloviating "General Bullmoose" had as his motto, "What's good for Bullmoose is good for America!"

How did Big Government do in the U.S. auto industry?

Washington imposed a minimum wage higher than the average wage in war-devastated Germany and Japan. The Feds ordered that U.S. plants be made the healthiest and safest worksites in the world, creating OSHA to see to it. It enacted civil rights laws to ensure the labor force reflected our diversity. Environmental laws came next, to ensure U.S. factories became the most pollution-free on earth.

It then clamped fuel efficiency standards on the entire U.S. car fleet.

Next, Washington imposed a corporate tax rate of 35 percent, raking off another 15 percent of autoworkers' wages in Social Security payroll taxes

State governments imposed income and sales taxes, and local governments property taxes to subsidize services and schools.

That's the left hook. Here's the kick to the head.

And under the 14th Amendment, GM, Ford and Chrysler had to obey the same U.S. laws and pay at the same tax rates. Outside the United States, however, there was and is no equality of standards or taxes.

Thus when America was thrust into the Global Economy, GM and Ford had to compete with cars made overseas in factories in postwar Japan and Germany, then Korea, where health and safety standards were much lower, wages were a fraction of those paid U.S. workers, and taxes were and are often forgiven on exports to the United States.

All three nations built "export-driven" economies.

The Beetle and early Japanese imports were made in factories where wages were far beneath U.S. wages and working conditions would have gotten U.S. auto executives sent to prison.

The competition was manifestly unfair, like forcing Secretariat to carry 100 pounds in his saddlebags in the Derby.

Japan, China and South Korea do not believe in free trade as we understand it. To us, they are our "trading partners." To them, the relationship is not like that of Evans & Novak or Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is not even like the Redskins and Cowboys. For the Cowboys only want to defeat the Redskins. They do not want to put their franchise out of business and end the competition -- as the Japanese did to our TV industry by dumping Sonys here until they killed it.

While we think the Global Economy is about what is best for the consumer, they think about what is best for the nation.

Like Alexander Hamilton, they understand that manufacturing is the key to national power. And they manipulate currencies, grant tax rebates to their exporters and thieve our technology to win. Last year, as trade expert Bill Hawkins writes, South Korea exported 700,000 cars to us, while importing 5,000 cars from us.

That's Asia's idea of free trade.

How has this Global Economy profited or prospered America?

In the 1950s, we made all our own toys, clothes, shoes, bikes, furniture, motorcycles, cars, cameras, telephones, TVs, etc. You name it. We made it.

Are we better off now that these things are made by foreigners? Are we better off now that we have ceased to be self-sufficient? Are we better off now that the real wages of our workers and median income of our families no longer grow as they once did? Are we better off now that manufacturing, for the first time in U.S. history, employs fewer workers than government?

We no longer build commercial ships. We have but one airplane company, and it outsources. China produces our computers. And if GM goes Chapter 11, America will soon be out of the auto business.

Our politicians and pundits may not understand what is going on. Historians will have no problem explaining the decline and fall of the Americans.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Prior planning prevents piss poor performance. This rush job, which was "the only solution" according to those BRILLIANT minds in Washington with names like Pelosi, Reid, Boehner, Bush, Obama, McCain, and McConnell, is not working.

WASHINGTON – Urgently shifting course, the Bush administration is abandoning the centerpiece of its massive $700 billion economic rescue plan and exploring new ways to shore up not only banks but credit-card, auto-loan and other huge nonbank businesses. Democrats are pressing hard to include a multibillion-dollar bailout for faltering automakers, too — over administration objections. Unimpressed by any of the talk on Wednesday, Wall Street dove ever lower.

"The facts changed and the situation worsened," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said at a news briefing, explaining the administration's switch from its original plan to help financial institutions by buying up troubled assets, primarily securities backed by bad home loans.

How is throwing money at charlie foxtrots beneficial to the economy? As I said about the crap sandwich back on September 29.

Emergency and rushed Bills usually turn out to be real turkeys. That got us the Patriot Act approved by 99 senators. That got us the department of "Homeland Security." That got us a massive increase in government, the loss of our freedoms, and in my opinion did nothing to make us safer.

You can't rush this crap. You have to first try and prevent this. If that doesn't work, as it did not work here, you find the root of the problem. When a Japanese Maple (my dad will get that reference) wraps around a septic pipe and breaks it, you don't fix the pipe until you correct the Maple. Else, it will break again, and the maple roots would be even bigger. This bandaid does nothing to fix the problem. It is so Pelosi, Chris Dodd, GW Bush, Goldman Sachs Paulson, Barney Frank, and Boehner can say "Hey, we did something!" and go back to put their heads in the sand and hope the worse collapse happens when they retire so it isn't their problem.

There's no secret to the problems here. People spent more than they had. They screwed up. The banks also screwed up in lending. Fixed costs they did not budget for increased. Housing markets dropped. Jobs (in Michigan and some other places) were scarce. Energy prices increased dramaticly. Unless these are addressed, then this bailout will only make it worse down the road.

My plan would be this. 1. All of the above (Except ethanol which raises food costs) energy policy. We need to open up our domestic energy sources, creating jobs here and improving our national security at the same time. Drill in Alaska and offshore. Clean Coal electricity. Nuclear Power. And at the same time work for alternative fuel. Fuel Cell, cold fusion. This needs to be long term. As people spend less on energy costs, they have more money in their pocket. Demand will only increase with an industrializing China and India and their 2+ Billion people.

2. Reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This should have been done 5 years ago.

3. Cut pork spending.

4. As far as the Wall Street plan, the Republican Study Committee has an alternative plan which I can support. Click here to see Pence and Jeb Hensarling's plan

Paulson put all his eggs in one basket, as did Pelosi, Boehner, Dodd, Frank, Bush, etc. The rank and file house democrats and republicans alike united against this crap sandwich. It's time to think things through, quit rushing, and deliver something that isn't a crap sandwich.

I hope Obama's first act as president is to fire Henry Paulson, and then replace him with someone better.

Monday, November 10, 2008

The lastest studies by the political class concluded one obvious solution that comes to them. Taxes! More of them. My least favorite tax. The gas tax. With gas prices STILL high, and likely to go back to their rates three months ago with Washington DC unlikely to allow more exploration of supplies, along with increased industrialization of India and China, the last thing we need is another artificial price increase thank to Washington or Lansing.

The worst tax in the country is the gas tax. I blame the gas prices as one of the major contributors to the economic collapse. People did not budget for $4.00+ gas. People always must pay the gas taxes or they miss work. This raises the costs for shipping and of every single product on the market, especially food costs. It devastates the Big 3. People lose jobs, are foreclosed, etc.

I will seriously consider a primary challenge against anyone from our county who votes for this tax if they are not term limited out. I would run on this issue, number one.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm and lawmakers should consider eliminating Michigan's 19-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax and replacing it with a tax on the wholesale price of gas, according to a report being released Monday.

Swapping the taxes would let revenues rise or fall with changing fuel prices rather than tying gas revenues to consumption, which is falling as motorists drive more fuel-efficient cars or cut back on buying gas to cope with prices that at one point topped $4 per gallon.

The change could boost transportation funding in the long run and might ensure that a bigger share of taxes paid at the pump actually go toward Michigan's deteriorating roads, advocates say.

The recommendation is one of many listed in a Transportation Funding Task Force report set for release Monday. The Associated Press got an advance copy of the 85-page report.

"We may need to shift away from a 19th- or 20th-century tax on motor fuels," said Rich Studley, task force co-chairman and head of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. He warned that the current system is becoming "obsolete."

Rich Studley is a good guy, but one siginificant power at the state chamber is the roadbuilders who have been pushing this for a long long time. That's not a slam, but a fact.

The 13-member task force was created by a state law asking for recommendations to improve roads, bridges, airports and public transportation and come up with new ways to pay for them.

The panel, which includes four legislators — two Democrats and two Republicans — decided to pass up delivering a preliminary report due Oct. 31 and release the final report months ahead of schedule.

The report says Michigan must double its transportation spending and warns that one or two incremental fee increases won't be enough to meet the need.

States have been struggling to find ways to raise enough money to fix crumbling roads and bridges and fund airports and public transportation. Gasoline sales nationally are down, so state and federal gasoline taxes are drawing in less money. Michigan continues to get back less in federal transportation dollars than it sends to Washington.

• Increasing vehicle registration fees. Task force member Mike Nystrom of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association said his group would favor a progressive increase that would be higher for more expensive vehicles.

• Changing the state's gas tax from a per-gallon rate to a percentage rate, similar to the sales tax, helping stabilize gas tax revenues. Nystrom said one idea to offset the impact to drivers would be to lower the percentage when gas prices are high.

• Looking at public-private partnerships that could include leasing roads to for-profit companies that could build toll lanes, or public-private collaborations on light-rail systems.

• Raising the diesel tax to 19 cents per gallon from 15 cents, to make it equal to the state gas tax.

As far as I'm concerned, registration fees are another tax. As far as "expensive" vehicles, does that go for the original price or the current value? My truck was probably about $28,000 when the original owner bought it. I paid about $11,000 3-4 years ago. Used. Will I be paying a tax on a $28,000 truck, $11,000 truck, or about $6000 or so it would be worth today. Heads up.

As far as toll roads go, I'm not adverse to them - as long as they are NEW roads, and not on existing roads. Same goes with HOV lanes.

The biggest problem is this false premise that all state road money did, does, and always will only come from the gas tax. That idea needs to be squashed and we all need to send that message to our reps now and hope that once again, Lansing doesn't bend us all over during the lame duck session with term limited reps which got us all those fee increases in 2004. As Kevin Bacon's famous Animal House Quote goes - "Thank you sir may I have another!" Time to call Chris, Joe, and Valde and tell them no tax increases. With gas at about $2.00, now is the time the tax hikers are going to strike. They will not do this when it goes back to $4.00 - and it will likely do so next summer.

Now one of the few things I think that government should spend money on is infastructure. Michigan has one of the highest gas taxes in the country. It's not 19 cents like the media says. It's 19 cents, and then another 6% of the entire cost. So if the raw price of gas is $1.62.6, add 18.4 cents for the federal tax. $1.81 add 19 Cents for the state tax. That makes it $2.00 Now add the 6% sales tax. 12 more cents. $2.12. Right now if gas is $2.12 per gallon, 50 cents of that is going to the gas tax. Almost 25% of all costs. If the raw price was $3.62, the main taxes increase it to $4.00 Add .24 cents per gallon in sales tax. Now taxes are 62 cents per gallon going to the government. The diesel tax recommendation is as bad if not worse. Pay more in shipping costs if this happens.

One recommendation I have is this - all money from the sales tax for gasoline is earmarked for roads and not the general fund. That can be paid for by eliminating needless government pork, like MSU trustee Joel Ferguson's State Police building, Dan Mulhern's paid staff and figurehead position, cutting these trips for government officials, and taking a scalpal to the budget. Another idea I have is consolidating townships and eliminating duplication. If you want to talk about "moving to the 21st century" there's a start. Back in 1837, it would probably take me all day to get from Green Oak to Lansing by horse. Now I can do it in about an hour by truck.

This false premise on the gas tax being the only way to fund roads needs to get sent to Hell.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Let me preface this by the following. I'm not against community service. I'm a strong believer of VOLUNTARY community service. I used to coach football for free. I loved it. If I still had the time to do a good job doing it, I'd still have the whistle and coaches golf shirt coaching.

I have a problem when it is required, mandatory, by law. That's what Comrade Obama wants. I have a problem with the following for three reasons. He changed the words for obvious political words, but I saw the original.

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Problems:1. Involuntary servitude. The constitution. Big government in DC is forcing our students by law to committ 350-850 hours of work without pay. It's a mandate. 2. What is considered community service in the eyes of government? ACORN? Radical leftist causes? This strikes me of "reducation camps." 3. How will this be enforced? No diploma? Maybe the affluent areas won't have a problem by this, but some kids have to work for money to help support the family. Will they be denied their diploma?

Obama or his people. changed it later for some reason. Good thing I saved the original paragraph. Here's the new one...

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by setting a goal that all middle school and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year and by developing a plan so that all college students who conduct 100 hours of community service receive a universal and fully refundable tax credit ensuring that the first $4,000 of their college education is completely free. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Require is now "setting a goal." That's a nice vague term. Now they are making it sound like it is tax credits? Or are they really planning for the original "requirement" and want to delay that. I still don't care for the tax credit plan. Community service should be done for the right reasons. It is something government shouldn't go near, especially from the incompetent fools in Washington DC.

My guard is up. The true intentions can often be seen by the first draft posted, and that say "to require." My response to Comrade Obama's requirement is that he can take it and shove it where the sun don't shine.

Allan Filip will not seek reelection after receiving the endorsement for 8th congressional district chairman.

"I will always cherish the honor of having served as chairman of the Livingston GOP over the last two years. I am proud of our group's accomplishments, Filip said. "I look forward to new challenges in the 8th district and hope we can build on the success of the Livingston GOP. I will continue to be very active in Livingston County."

Fillip made the announcement on Thursday night. He was endorsed by Mike Rogers and Larry Ward.

I think Allan did a good job for the party. Without going into details, it was a mess at the end of 06. I'm not going to point fingers on that here. It's done and over. Old news. The first thing is that the new leadership calmed some things down that needed to be calmed. That worked well for him as he wasn't a fan of inside baseball. He did well at putting some of the factions of the party back together and worked well with others. I was a Ron Paul supporter. He was a Romney supporter. Allan and I still worked well together. That doesn't mean we always agree, but we agreed much more than we disagreed and when we disagreed, we did so respectfully. I disappeared for a while from the inside stuff, but still kept in touch and did saw enough to see some of the good changes that took place.

Today, a good foundation is in place, and without the work the county put in, I have no doubt at least two races, if not possibly three or four would have been carried by democrats. That wasn't all Allan, but he was part of it. When McCain left the state, our county still had the capacity to do some things on our own.

Are things perfect? No. But I judge a leadership role of officers by this. Did the chair of the Livingston GOP leave the spot in a better position now than he did when he took it over? The answer is yes. That's all I can ask. Same goes for any other organizational position, VP, both Treasurers, and both Secretaries.

I know one person who is running for Allan's spot, and I'm probably backing him. I won't disclose that here yet. Stay tuned. Good luck to Allan for the 8th District spot. He's got my support, as well as the support of the previous chair, Larry Ward.

Former President Clinton Appointed Emanuel To The Board Of Freddie Mac Where He Earned $231,655 In Director's Fees In 2001 And $31,060 In 2000. "Clinton's going-away gift to Emanuel was a seat on the quasi-governmental Freddie Mac board, which paid him $231,655 in director's fees in 2001 and $31,060 in 2000." (Lynn Sweet, "Too Much Money A Bad Thing?" Chicago Sun-Times, 1/3/02)

The Clinton Administration Ruled Fannie And Freddie Could Satisfy Affordable Housing Obligations By Purchasing Subprime Mortgages. "If Sen. Obama were truly looking for a kind of deregulation that might be responsible for the current financial crisis, he need only look back to 1998, when the Clinton administration ruled that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could satisfy their affordable housing obligations by purchasing subprime mortgages. This ultimately made it possible for Fannie and Freddie to add a trillion dollars in junk loans to their balance sheets. This led to their own collapse, and to the development of a market in these mortgages that is the source of the financial crisis we are wrestling with today." (Peter J. Wallison, Op-Ed, "Obama Voted 'Present' On Mortgage Reform," The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/08)

I saw this coming a long time ago. That's because I didn't drink the flavor-aid.

"There's nothing in the streetLooks any different to meAnd the slogans are replaced, by-the-byeAnd the parting on the leftIs now the parting on the rightAnd the beards have all grown longer overnight""

WASHINGTON -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former U.S. Rep. David Bonior will serve on a panel of financial luminaries and corporate experts advising President-elect Barack Obama on the nation’s hard-bitten economy, ensuring Michigan, its troubled auto industry and labor has a seat at the table.

That's about as smart as appointing Ted Nugent to PETA's board of directors. What the hell was he thinking? Granholm's legacy on the economy are service tax increases, business tax increase, sin taxes, income taxes, tax shifts, fee increases, surcharges, unemployment, people leaving the state, debt, big government regulation, a push for a gas tax, pork projects for a $116 million dollar state police building, government picking winners and losers,

This country and state voted for Obama, so don't bitch to me. It's time for you to assume the position! "Thank you sir, may I have another!"

Here we are in the yearsThe blood, the sweat, the tearsHave made us bondage slavesIn a world that we never made,The politicians lick our bones,The tacticians, hearts of stoneThey turn us against our brothersMake us fight and kill each otherLocked in lust we put our trust in dogs

Here we are again,The dead still look the sameWho cares they're soon forgottenNobody gonna miss a corpse that's rottenYour fathers, mothers, daughters, sonsHave been taken by the chosen onesBut don't you forget you made the choice,You made your mark, you raised your voice,They're all the same, you're all to blameYou're dogs!

It was a mixed bag in Livingston County. We lost on Prop 2 which sucked and will really suck when you see the courts interpret what the definition of "discourage" means. Cliff Taylor also lost the county. Jay Drick didn't unseat Brennan.

Partisan races were big wins, if not by the margins I prefer. We unseated a democrat incumbent and did not lose any seats. We were McCain's 3rd best county (Allan, you forgot Missaukee County up North) by percentage. McCain pulled out, so our counties and state were on our own without any other support. Jack Hoogendyk was thrown to the wolves completely, and still at least won my county.

No democrats took any open seats in the county, nor did they defeat any incumbents, although one republican incumbent lost to another republican in Unadilla township. The Republicans successfully defended all their seats.The democrats only hold two positions of a partisan nature. They were both incumbents. Kevin Dobis and Lori Cowan in Putnam and Unadilla Townships. Putnam's local politics isn't really as partisan as much as it is between "Keeping Putnam Rural" or a more developmental approach.

The bad news is top the ticket is much closer. Overall it was 55.79% for McCain and 42.51% for Obama. That's a lot lower than the 62%+ win for Bush in 2004. This was a statewide problem for many reasons, not the least of which was McCain staffer announcing that he pulled out. This is usually the 3rd, 4th, or 5th most GOP county in the state (The other being Hillsdale or Allegan). This year, it was third.

The silver lining is that Mike Rogers, and newcomers Bill Rogers and Cindy Denby ran ahead of the ticket. Mike Rogers got 66.50% which was better than his 2006 numbers. Dave Domas soundly defeated Michael Moore's friend. I am surprised that Scott Lucas had a higher percentage than Donna Anderson did in their races. Lucas ran an anemic campaign, and Anderson worked for what she had. Over in Handy Township, there were enough partisans for Frazier to win the trustee spot held by Robert Redinger. Redinger had a lot of support among people in both parties, and he had an independent streak backing Denby for State Rep.

The question is this. Would Hardesty's votes go to Skiba otherwise, or Buckland? I don't know. Pat Evon for treasurer got 54.47% over Linda Taylor's 44.68%. That was ahead of the top of the ticket as McCain was held to 51% in Hamburg. The Hamburg County Commissioner seat was also close. Dave Buckland got 46% against Dennis Dolan's 53%. The new team in Hamburg of Hohl (unopposed), Skiba, and Evon, along with trustees have to show the population there that the local GOP does a good job, or there could be more troubles.

Putnam Township Supervisor was close, as always. The independent there took 18%, and Ron Rau won reelection with 44.32%. Green Oak was about as close as the top of the ticket. McCain got 54.68%, and Mark St Charles got 53.78% against Matt Evans who got a respectable 45.34%.

I can go down the list with the rest of them, but I'll say this. Countywide, I consider a 55.79% win a big loss. Period. Same thing I said about the 2006% election. In order for a Republican to win statewide, 64-65% is minimum. Anything less at the top of the ticket is most likely a loss.

Now what should the Livingston County Republican Party do at home? I think we need to build on the advertising campaign. We don't brag enough. The county runs well. We take that for granted here. We shouldn't. We need to let people who moved here recently that it is our officials, republican, who built this and maintained it properly. This county has a high bond rating, lowest millage rate, lower taxes, and lets us keep more money in our pockets and not in the hands of big government. We need to combat those who move from democrat areas and bring partisanship with them. This is how to do it. Let them know that they moved to a well run county. This is how it is done, and why republicans run it better than the democrat areas they came from and it will be gone if the same people that win there win here.

If you want to look at democrat run societies, look at Detroit and it's 62 mills in property taxes, or better yet, look at who started turning Detroit government into what it is today. It wasn't the blacks that started it either. It was white "progressive" democrats in the 1960's. The riots happened under white democrat rule. High taxes, more bureaucracy, less efficiency, and more problems.

We need to go back to less government and more freedom. For the most part, Livingston County does that. That's one of the things that makes this county work.

A team is coming together. With Adam Putnam and Kay Granger leaving, that clears those seats. Can we fit Hensarling in to one of those spots?

That's a start, but why the hell is "crap sandwich" Boehner still there? He needs to step down as well or get voted out of leadership. After 06 and his weak leadership in 08, he needs to stop his Matt Millen leadership.

We need ideas people in charge. The leading name I'm hearing is Cantor. He's an improvement, but I'd rather see Pence, Hensarling, Blackburn, or someone of that vein who can compete with ideas and then communicate them as alternatives to the big leftism of Obama, Pelosi, etc.

In other news, Dow down 300+ so far. It was down 500+ yesterday after Obama one. He's already tanking the economy. Oh well. You all voted for him. Walk it off.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Going into yesterday, I told those that asked me that I gave McCain a 40% shot to win. I thought he had a shot at Pennsylvania. If he didn't win there, he had to run the table. I didn't think that could be done. My realistic odds were closer to 30% than 40%. Part of that was the McCain campaign's doing. Most of it was due to Congress, Bush, and Washington screwing up. This was not that hard to see coming. I'm not going to post anything close to the election that would decrease turnout on the right.

Obama's strategy was largely built on the 2000 Bush message and 2004 Bush organization with a few tweaks. Bush won largely thanks to the classic outsider message and by winning the ground game. Bush's people had a tin ear when it came to policy related issues, but they are ace organizers, and the difference was striking between 08 and 04. As far as Obama's campaign organization, Obama used to organize for a living. He was one of ACORN's best people. Seeing 2000 and 2004, the plan was all laid out for him and Axelrod. Obama expanded on the 2000 Bush strategy with with the financial jaggernault, a media in the tank for him, gullible voters and capitalizing on blunders. The one good thing I can say is that anytime one party gets total control of government, they eventually screw up badly. The Democrats will screw up badly, eventually. Chicago style Daley Machine Politics is coming to America. The bad part is that I'm going to get screwed as well as those who voted for them. Until then, protect your wallet, buy some more guns and ammo before the new bans (as soon as a high profile shooting takes place - it will nickle and dime us out), get out of the market before the capital gain increases and switch to other investments. They are going to do for this country what Granholm is doing here. Don't bitch to me about it if you voted for him. He's your president, not mine.

However the title of this isn't about how bad of a president Obama is going to be. It's titled Self-destructed - from 06 to today, and the way to climb back. I've always been a believer in taking care of our own house first. You don't beat even an empty suit with nothing. The worst aspect of the last few years in Congress is that the few real alternatives and the piss poor communication (and some cases, stepping on) of any alternatives that did exist. That was the biggest problem of the Bush administration and Congressional leadership.

1. Mistake number one is this. When Congress/Senate got its ass kicked in 2006, why did we put the same people in charge of leadership? Whips were put in charge when leaders were needed. John Boehner and Roy Blunt are not leaders. What alternatives to the crap from Pelosi that Boehner/Blunt proposed? Where was the fight against big government? They let Pelosi run the show and at most just said no and lost the vote. That's unacceptable. They needed then to put Pence (Who won with 65% overall and 56% in a county that Obama won with similar margin) Shadegg, and Hensarling in charge. They need to do that now, or at the very least take a page out of that playbook or they will not take Congress back, even when Obama screws up. Stop following and start leading. The GOP Congress spent time letting Bush do all the leading (he's not a leader. He'll sometimes take a stand, but there's more to leadership that just that.) and even stepped on the leadership of some of their own members at the behest of DC consultants and beltway people. That's unacceptable. That needs to change and change now.

2. Bailout. Bailout. Bailout. McCain sealed his defeat by his handling the bailout situation and never recovered. That lost much of the blue collar vote nationwide. After the house defeated the "crap sandwich" the first time, he suspends his campaign, and votes for a worse bill. McCain could have been the Maverick and fought this bailout bill for saying what it was, a bad bill, then offered an alternative. McCain's biggest strength was his fiscal restraint and he lost it there. Both parties were behind the bailout.

3. You had a matching funds candidate taking on a 500 million dollar machine, plus the union leadership, plus the media completely in the tank for Obama, plus the congressional money. There's only one way to fight against that and it is to run against the big money special interests. Run against them, expose them. What happened to taking down their names and making them famous? That needed to be done much more often than it was.

4. Cliff Taylor. This was the worst loss. We knew that Jon Stryker and his gazillions was going to try and take him out and we were unprepared to strike back. I saw a couple of anti-Hathaway ads, but why didn't we fight back with better ones, like Michigan's Surpreme Court being considered the best in the country, and show the voters why he deserved to keep the job. I did not see one Cliff Taylor sign. I tried for three months to get one. Most people did not know who Cliff Taylor was, but the democrats made sure their people did. The GOP has been counting on the incumbent tag and has neglected these races for years, counting on the Michigan Chamber of Commerce to do the job for them. The Chamber needs more help.

5. Conceding the state. Whoever that aide was that announced McCain was pulling out of Michigan needs to get blacklisted. If you pull out of states, you don't announce it to the world. That gets you tagged as a quitter. Even that aside, I was not laughing at Howard Dean's 50 state strategy in 2004. Reagan won 49 states. Probably more impressive given the quality of candidates, the first Bush won 426 electoral votes. Nobody comes close to that today. McCain lost many of his votes by not fighting hard there. Bush made the same mistake in 2000, but was able to run the table.

6. No planning whatsoever. When the party throws as many people to the wolves as they did, there needs to be mass firings up and down the board. This crap has gone on for too long and is a big reason why you will never see me ever donate to the NRCC or NRSC. The conventional way hasn't worked. The 1994 way did. It's a great blueprint. Stop tossing tough seats to the wolves and conceding them before it gets started. Limiting the playing field limits victories to running the table. Hell, this year in the senate, the NRSC considered losing 4 seats a victory. What the hell is that about? Losing one is defeat, but I expect to win every game I play. The worst case was in Arkansas. Pryor was almost unopposed. No Republican ran.

After 06, I posted these pieces and much of what I said then applies today.

That common sense I posted in 2006 wasn't followed, and we got our asses kicked as a result. Now we're back in 1976 all over again. Now this is what I would do if I was GOP boss, both state or federal.

1. Run a slate in each state taylored to the dynamics of each state (or localities within the state). Obama's the money machine. They have a lot of money to defend seats. Run against the fat cats, K Street, and rich leftist hypocrites funding them. Contest all races, and pick a half-dozen issues to run on. Criteria for these candidates - no rematches. Once you're knocked out of congress, that's it. Game over. New blood is needed, as well as new ideas to change Washington without being changed by Washington. The slate needs to be by state. At the same time, that means putting up with Republicans who may be more liberal or conservative than others on some issues depending on the issues. That I'll get to more in "balance." Run on the 70% issues. This is to get around the money defecit that will happen under the Obama regime.

2. Balance. Outside of being a great communicator, this is what Reagan brought that people forget. He knew what played well in which state, and found a way to balance Western libertarians, Midwest conservative populists, Security voters, Northeast Rockefeller Republicans, and Southern Conservatives, and even was able to win California which while at one time was more Republican friendly, was never a conservative state statewide. The Republicans lost this when they ditched states rights. This more than anything else is the problem that Bush and Congress had. They alienated all groups here as some time or another. That I pin mostly on Bush's policies. This needs to be remembered with any nationalized campaign. Hit those 70% issues. Then leave the rest of the stuff to the states where it belongs. We don't need a constitutional amendment on gay marriage. I don't live in Massachusetts. I live in Michigan. We don't need DC'ers running our states. That goes for perscription drugs bills, no child left behind, and all the other "compassionate conservatism" stuff that was pushed over the last eight years. Leaving things to the states is what preserved the big tent.

3. Don't neglect the intellectual side of conservatism, especially limited government. We need the "Joe the plumbers" but we also need the Jerry Zandstras. Without the ideas, a party is bankrupt. Without practicality, a party is still in perpetitual defeat. Both are needed. This side has been neglected over the past few years in all areas outside of foreign policy, and even that is debatable. Newt Gingrich, Phil Gramm, and Dick Armey were never replaced in Congress. I don't always agree with them, but when they left was when the mismanagement really started to begin.

3. Screw mandates. They don't exist. Period. The democrats never let Bush have a mandate. In 2004, when the GOP gained seats along with the presidency, there was no mandate. Bush thought he had one. He thought wrong. In 1992, Bill Clinton thought he had a mandate. He thought wrong. "Mandates" last as long as the policy is accepted by the people. No more, no less. Those who think otherwise, overreach and lose their jobs. That goes for Democrat and Republican alike. If the GOP buys into the mandate talk, they'll lose more seats.

5. Run on the 70% issues. We can start with balancing the budget without raising taxes, something a democrat congress has not done since before my lifetime. It was the 1994 Republicans that did it. Other issues. Ballot integrity which democrats hate because they sometimes steal elections. These issues need to be brought up immediately when Obama takes office. The GOP members of Congress need to lead, communicate the message, and tell Pelosi, Reid and Obama to put up or shut up on fiscal responsibility. Pence brought in a balanced budget before. It got voted down by his own party. Guess who is still in office and ran ahead of the ticket. Guess whose leadership got an ass kicking. It's time to lead, and make them follow or at the very least, get the hell out of the way like Clinton did to an extent after 94.

Maybe this time Congressional leadership got the message and will stop listening to the DC beltway. If not, maybe their seats go next.

Monday, November 03, 2008

This election comes down to one thing. Turnout. If we don't turn out like 1996 or 2006, game over and the entire national government is governed by the Chicago Daley machine. If they don't turn out like 1990, game over the other way. I already voted. If you haven't we need you there. Supreme Court, checks and balances, energy policy, life issues, 2nd amendment, free speech, and Obama's plan for a new "civillian defense force" aka a standing army in the US is on the line.

Vote for McCain/Palin. Vote for the moderate! This time it's important.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

This may be my last post before the election. I got a real busy week both before during and after Election Day. Sometime, more than likely next week when things calm down, I'll post the analysis, results, home runs, and blunders of epic proportions committed on all sides, and where things go from there. I don't know who will win, and depending on difference situations, I can see either side winning this, or more accurately, either side giving the election away to the other guy.

There's been a lot of hype with the polls ranging from blowouts to the margin of error to near ties under 50% depending on the polling firm and sampling used. Which polls are accurate? Only one. The one on election day itself.

That stuff is for the most part out or our control. Unlike many on the left, I know I can't control what others do. However we can control what we can control. If we want to win, there are several things we can do. If we're to stop Obama's "Civillian National Security Force" and his goon squads from trying to shut us up, take our guns, raise our taxes, expanding government, and grabbing our freedoms, this is what we must do:

1. Vote. I already have. This is most important. 2. Get others of friendly persuasion to vote if they haven't. 3. Sign up if still possible to be Poll Challengers to maintain the integrity of the polls. 4. If unable to do that, be a poll watcher to maintain the integrity of the polls.

With Barack's Chicago-Daley style of politcs, that needs to be watched now more than ever. I won't be live blogging this election, since I'll be out in the middle of the action, and won't be taking my valuables like a computer with me. I don't know what to expect. I will be prepared for literally anything.